Dates

• Existence: 1561 - 1644

Biography

John Bois (1561-1644), biblical translator, was born in 1561 at Nettlestead, Suffolk. He was taught Greek and Hebrew by his father, early protestant and scholar William Bois, and read the bible at the age of five. He attended Hadleigh Grammar School whose master, John Still, was also master of St John's College, Cambridge. This may have helped Bois' application to St John's at age 14. He graduated BA in 1579 and MA in 1582. Following this he lectured and studied until becoming a priest in 1588, after which he became rector at Boxworth, Cambridgeshire. Bois married a Miss Holt, daughter of the previous rector, in 1597 or 1598 and they had four sons and three daughters, only two of whom survived him. The most outstanding aspect of John Bois' legacy is the notes that he made during the discussions relating to the formation of the 1611 King James Bible. His notes were long thought lost but copies have surfaced in Cambridge and London; on the whole they describe the scholarly discussions over meaning in the original text. Bois moved to Ely in 1628 where he died in 1644.

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